Hong LIng – A Peak of Reds.
The retrospective by Hong Ling continues at the Chester Beatty Library in Dublin until January 29. It charts the development of Hong Ling’s art from student paintings in his personal collection to his vast later works painted in oil and in ink. Born in Beijing in 1955, the artist Hong Ling studied oil painting in the years after the Chinese Cultural Revolution (1966–76). In the mountains of rural China, however, his brush found a new path. Drawing together the imported medium of oil on canvas with the landscapes and philosophies of China’s artistic heritage, Hong Ling has made a contribution to the world of Chinese landscape painting unparalleled in its vibrancy.
Working from his studio in the foothills of the Yellow Mountains of China’s Anhui Province, Hong Ling reveals the charged atmosphere of this dramatic locale from the bold colours of the shifting seasons to the heavy mists that weave among pine-clad peaks. As exhilarating as they are immersive, Hong Ling’s paintings stand as an invitation to join him in the landscape that is his home and his inspiration.
The exhibition is part of a touring retrospective sponsored by UNEEC Culture and Education Foundation, Taiwan, and organised with Soka Art and the School of Oriental and African Studies, University of London. It follows Hong Ling’s recent retirement from the prestigious Central Academy of Fine Arts (CAFA), Beijing, where he taught oil painting since 1987. The show will travel on to Bath from Dublin.